


Not Too Close

by TurboSoggy69



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Age Difference, Aged-Up Character(s), Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Hormones, Kissing, M/M, Max (Camp Camp) Angst, Max Actually Cares a Lot, Max Gets Kicked Out, Max is 16, Max is Kind of a Drug Addict, Maxvid - Freeform, Neil and Max Have Friendship Problems, Nikki is Really Only Mentioned, Not Crossposted, Slow Burn, Smut, Takes place at camp, Things go a Bit Fast at First, but - Freeform, more tags as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21613039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurboSoggy69/pseuds/TurboSoggy69
Summary: Max, having recently gotten kicked out of his parent’s home for being a drug abuser, begs his best friend to stay at their childhood camp one more summer. He’s just trying to buy himself some time to clean up a bit, but he’s having a lot more trouble than he imagined.OrMax thinks that maybe the only reason he is the way he is is because he lacks the drive and motivation. There’s really nothing he wants, nothing here for him anymore. But upon revisiting an old camp after six years, he finds out what he wants and convinces himself that David is the answer.
Relationships: David/Max (Camp Camp)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright, everyone off.” 

The bus came to a slow stop as Max mustered up the energy to blink his eyes open. He hadn’t fallen asleep or anything, but he had come close a few times. Anxiety kept him conscious.

Neil, his best friend since he was ten, stood first and looked back at Max expectantly. Max responded by standing and throwing his backpack over his shoulder. The two quietly stepped off the bus, with subtle stretching from Max as their feet hit the ground. 

Nostalgia was evident in the air.

“Well, this place looks like fucking shit,” Max declared. He held his angry glare at nothing in particular. 

“Where is everyone?” Neil wondered this aloud, glancing to and fro as a few more campers stepped off the bus. They were all older campers, like Neil and Max, here only because the camp had finally opened to older ages in an attempt to make more money. They hadn’t been here in six whole years. The place hadn’t changed a bit.

Max let out a half-assed laugh. “Maybe David finally went insane and murdered everyone.”

The two of them began walking forward, the other new campers followed behind them probably just because they seemed like they knew where they were going. 

The trails had slightly grown over, grass coming up between every little pebble that led to the mess hall. Max figured they’d be there, and as they approached, he could tell by the screaming inside that he was right. He didn’t realize it, but Neil was having some trouble keeping up with him. 

“Excited?” Neil asked him, giving Max a confronting smirk.

“As if.” 

Once Max was close enough, he opened the big ass doors and looked at the view ahead of him. Most of the campers in there were young, all of which appeared to be losing their fucking shit. Some of the older ones stayed on their phones, some had headphones. It took Max a moment to spot one of the counselors, but when he did he saw how tired he looked.

David sat against a wall with his head in his hands; he looked like he was about to pass out. No doubt it was because Gwen wasn’t there to help him.

“Should we go over there?” Max asked. 

“I suppose.”

So they did, leaving the other teens behind as they moved towards their old camp counselor. The older man must’ve looked up just in time to see them approaching because he quickly stood and tried putting on a positive smile before greeting them. 

“Good afternoon!” He exclaimed like he was excited and all. “You must be our new campers! I’ll be happy to show you around-“

“You missed the fucking bus David, the kids that need shown around are standing by the door,” Max stayed. David frowned at the teen’s language, then looked over by the door to see who Max was referring too.

“Oh.” The man regained his positive attitude quickly, telling the two of them how proud he was for them to use their sharp thinking skills to find where they all must be before he stopped mid sentence. He looked like he had just seen every ghost in a thousand mile radius. “Max?” He asked in shock. Then he looked at the taller of the two teens. “Neil?”

Neil was the one who nodded, so in turn it was Neil’s fault that David had pulled the two into a tight hug Max wouldn’t have returned even if he could. It was quite a warm, painful, comforting hug. 

Max pushed himself away quite frantically. “Alright, lay off, Camp Man. It’s not that big of a deal.”

David did as Max asked and took a step back to look the two over. “I never thought I’d see either of you back here. What camp are you two signed up for?”

“Science Camp,” Neil responded lamely. Max knew Neil wasn’t expecting much. Neil was really only here for Max. David nodded, telling Neil that he admired him for staying in the same field for so long and how it’s tough finding out what you want.

“And what camp did your parents sign you up for, Max?”

“Troubled youth, or some shit,” Max mumbled. 

David frowned at him. “Now, Max-“

“Save the lecture, David. Just fix me.” Then Max pulled himself away from the conversation before David could say anything, tugging on Neil’s sleeve so that he’d follow. 

“I swear, this place is so fucking stupid.” Max said, crossing his arms over his chest as David began yelling for everyone to pay attention.

“Then why here of all places? You could’ve gone anywhere else after you got kicked out, and instead you came back to this dump.” 

“I don’t know, Neil. I just need more time to figure shit out.” His eyes softened for only a moment. “But, thanks for, uh- you know. Coming with me.”

“Any questions?” David asked the large group. “Then without further ado, I’ll show you all to your tents!” 

Neil shrugged. “No problem.”

-

It must have been an executive decision to have the tents separated by age groups. Max also figured it was a good decision.

It was past ten now, most of the day was spent being introduced to the basics of camp, and Max was serious when he said nothing had changed. Well, besides that Gwen had gotten a better job as a children’s counselor a few towns down, finally putting her psychology major to good use. Good for Gwen, but poor David was here running the place all by himself.

Max really didn’t care.

Him and Neil chose tents alongside each other, for easier access to waking each other up for reasons just like this.

“Dude, you got a lighter?” Max asked, holding a tightly rolled joint between two of his fingers.

Neil opened the front of his tent to let Max in.

“Have you heard anything from Nikki?” Max asked his friend, lighting the joint before taking a big hit of it.

“In this place? Absolutely not.” Neil held his cell phone up. “No signal. She’s probably still at her mom’s. She already said she couldn’t come, Max.”

“Yeah, but for old times sakes,” he argued. He passed the joint to Neil. “She wouldn’t believe this place. It really hasn’t changed, man. Not at all. Besides Gwen, but it doesn’t feel much different still.” Neil lightly coughed. “Does David look different to you?”

“What, more like an old man?” Neil passed it back. Max took a puff and held it while he talked. 

“No, like, tired. He looks really tired.” He finally exhaled and then did it again. “He’s only like- what, twenty-eight?” 

“Wouldn’t know,” Neil responded. They passed it again. They waited awhile before talking again. Neil was waiting for Max to get high enough to open up to him. “So, why are we back here, Max? You could be anywhere else, dude, so why here?”

“Timing, mostly.” Max took an even bigger hit and passed it back to Neil before exhaling. His throat was dry. “Happened to get kicked out in the summer. It works out.”

“What are you gonna do after this?”

“I dunno. I think I’m hoping David has an answer. David’s been there more for me in that one year than my parents have my whole life.” He sighed. “I think maybe I missed him.”

“Awww,” Neil mocked him playfully. Max swatted his hand at him. “I always knew it, man.”

“Knew what?” Max scoffed. His eyes were drooping. 

“You had some sort of thing for David.”

“I do not and I never have,” Max held his hand out expectantly. “I’m just traumatized, Neil, don’t look so deep into it.”

“You don’t have to look that deep to see it.” 

Neil passed it back and Max held the joint to his mouth a little too long. His eyes widened quite a bit before he responded, sort of sitting up. “You don’t think he knows, do you?” He was paranoid.

“So you confess?” Neil seemed confused. Neil also seemed amused. He was also shocked.

“Neil.” He felt the name curiously in his mouth. “Do you think he knows?”

“That you’re interested in him-?”

“No, just that I like him.”

“Does David know? Dude, everyone knows. But David’s weird. He may never know.” Neil concluded.

Max took another hit. “Good.”


	2. You’re Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has a hard time controlling himself. He always does. This time, there’s just more people to disappoint. He also sorta kinda hits on someone a little bit. Oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo so I wrote the first and second chapter in the same day. It hurt.

That next morning, Max was what you might call ‘blowed-over.’ His eyes were stained kind of red and he felt the dryness of his throat in tenfold, probably due to the lack of water.

He had fallen asleep in Neil’s tent the night before and found himself freezing, squished into the side of the tent with no blanket, and a lighter beneath his face. That couldn’t be safe. 

Neil also awoke beside him, coming to with a loud cough as the alarm sounded throughout the camp. Following was David’s cheerful voice, asking everyone to please meet in the mess hall for breakfast. In response, Neil let open the tent to leave and they both smelled the fresh air. It was a lot different than the air in the tent.

“Do you think David will smell us?” Max asked, not entirely concerned, but still wondering.

“Oh, I don’t think so Max, it’s not like we hotboxed my tent or anything.” His friend responded sarcastically. “I’m pretty sure everyone in this goddamn camp can smell us.” 

“Mmm.” Max responded. “I don’t wanna get up. Do you still take adderall?”

Neil, who was previously looking outside of the tent at the campers leaving, looked back at Max and sighed. “Yeah… it’s in my bag. Don’t take more than two.”

Max finally sat up, reaching towards Neil’s bag and opening it. “Only a psychopath would take more than two.”

His friend scoffed. “Yeah. Like you.” He watched as Max twisted the cap open and pour some into his hand.”I’m serious, Max. It’s a high dose.”

“You got it man.” Max counted out three instead and put the rest back inside the bottle, back inside the bag, and zipped it tight.

“Did you bring anything else?” Neil questioned.

“Xanax.” Max responded as he gathered up the spit to get the pills down. He popped them in and swallowed like he was used to it.

“I’m… not doing that with you.”

The two got out of the tent pretty fast after that, brushing their teeth by the lake like they did as kids. A few of the other campers caught on and did the same before finally heading to the mess hall. The whole thing took about ten minutes. Max only had about twenty minutes left to wait before the drugs started kicking in. 

Breakfast wasn’t something Max ever really enjoyed, it upset his stomach too much to eat in the morning, so he waited for awhile at a table until Neil came back until he saw David approaching. 

“So you still aren’t eating breakfast, huh?” David asked, taking a seat across from him like it was normal. 

“Nope,” Max responded, staring back at the man like a deer in headlights. David absolutely had to smell something on him.

“Well,” he pushed a mug of coffee towards Max. Max hadn’t even realized he was holding that. “I figured I’d make this for you for if that were the case. It’s just black, but if you’ve come to like anything in it, I can do that for you.” 

Max’s features softened. David wasn’t here to bust him or give him some lecture, he was just here to bring Max some coffee. That was it. Max gave him a small smile, his eyelids still a little droopy. “Thanks, David. I still just have it black though.” 

David gave him a warm smile and Max remembered his little talk with Neil last night. He had small little creatures playing around in his stomach all of the sudden. It felt gross. Max felt really gross, but he was still staring at that smile. “Of course, Max. I just wasn’t sure if you drank it anymore. Some people grow out of things. I tried to quit drinking it for awhile, but I always came right back to it. I guess that’s why they call it a drug. It’s addictive,” David laughed. Max didn’t.

Max gave David a truly evil glare. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

The man ahead of him looked caught off guard, his eyes widening and his shoulders suddenly tense. “What-? I, uh- I didn’t mean to-“

At that moment, Neil slapped his tray on the table and looked between the two of them. 

“...Did I interrupt something?”

“No,” Max responded, still glaring at David. “David just made me coffee.” He spat the words out like they tasted terrible.

“Oh.” Neil made a face. “Alright.” Then he started eating his breakfast.

“Sorry, I’ll uh- go.” David seemed confused, but Max completely knew what he was up to. At least he thought he did. He watched David walk away and go back to the counselor’s table. 

Neil stared at Max, also confused, while Max glared bullets into David’s skull. “What happened?” 

“That sonuvabitch accused me of being a drug addict.”

Neil’s face went flat. “No he didn’t.” 

“Yeah he did, man. He sat right down in front of me and told me about how coffee is a drug and how it’s addictive.” Max began mumbling things under his breath like a lunatic. Things along the lines of “that motherfucker… thinking he’s onto something…” That kind of shit.

Max took a sip of his coffee. He really shouldn’t, though. Coffee and adderall really probably shouldn’t go together. Max thought of that very thing and pushed the coffee away from himself. 

“I bet he thinks he knows what’s up. I bet he’s making a plan right now to get me out of here.” Max was talking a bit too loud and pointing his finger at David accusingly. Luckily the man was far enough and had his back turned to him. “He’s fucking crazy, I know he is. You know what we should do, Neil? We should walk out right now, steal the bus, get well paying online jobs and renovate the bus to be a house. Then we wouldn’t have to be in this shitty fucking carnival.”

“Max-“

“Have you ever watched Breaking Bad?” Max asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well I’m motherfucking Heisenberg. I’m the best crystal meth cooker in all of the land, and I don’t need to be mocked by some low-grade, redheaded, cute-faced camp counselor. I don’t have to go through that shit.” 

“Max, man-“

Max turned. He paused a moment, then started again like he had just gotten the best idea in the whole world. “Scratch that, you’re Heisenberg. You’ve got a brother in the DEA and I’m Jesse fucking Pinkman, BITCH.” 

“Max, holy shit, shut up,” Neil demanded, tilting Max’s chin up so he was facing the light. “Your eyes are the size of fucking lightbulbs, man. How many did you take?”

“Two, asshole.” He knocked Neil’s hand away. 

“Don’t lie to me, man. The worst thing you can do is lie to me.” Neil was obviously a bit worried.

“Whatever, three. It’s not that big of a deal-“

“Dude!” Neil shouted as quietly as he could. “I told you those were high doses! Everyone’s gonna know how fucked up you are-“

“I feel great, man. I feel like Queen. Yeah.” Max paused for a moment, looking away, then began singing. “Don’t stop me now- because I’m having a good time, having a good time, HAVIN-“

Neil put his hand over Max’s mouth. “I cannot fucking believe you, dude. What do you think this is gonna do for you? Get you un-kicked out?”

“Woah,” Max put his hands out in front of him. “Calm down, I’m not trying to start anything, I just thought it’d be crazy if we lived in a bus. It’s not that big of a deal.” 

Max got a look of pure disappointment. “Alright, I’m out. Come talk to me when you’re sober,” and with that, he picked up his tray to go sit by the trash can. It was whatever. Max didn’t really care. Max also couldn’t stand not talking. 

His eyes darted around the room a lot faster than he realized. He didn’t know anyone here besides Neil. Neil and… Well, David. Max knew David. 

The idea of Max having been bad at David only a very short while ago was strange. Max had moved on a lot since then, so he thought he’d just go over there and start talking. Max never really had a problem with talking when he was on adderall. It made him a very outgoing, energy filled, confident person. He felt pretty good right now. He thought he might be superhuman.

He stood, leaving his coffee at the table and sat down in front of David.

Max started talking first. “Sometimes, I think I’m crazy,” Max explained. “I swear to god I am because I switch up really fast. Like, really fast, David. If you were to hit me, I’d probably think I just got shot, and I’d drag my bloody self all the way to that bus and live in it. You know why, David?”

David’s brows knitted together. He stared at Max, confused, his coffee mug in both hands raised halfway to his mouth. “No?”

“Because I’m really dramatic, David. And I get pissed off about things and not even know why I was ever mad just seconds later, David. I don’t know why, I just do. So, David, how are you?” Max kept repeating his name, even after he stopped talking. His name just felt right in his mouth, in his head, all over him. He wanted to be smothered by David’s name. 

Max was chewing on his bottom lip like it was the tastiest thing in the world. 

“Well, Max,” David started, a bit taken aback. “If you’re apologizing, then thank you, but it’s not necess-“

“Ugh, David, shut up. You were fine right after you said thanks.” Max didn’t want David to ruin it. The older man thanking him made Max feel good. “You know,” Max smirked. “I’m sixteen now. Sixteen is close to seventeen, seventeen is close to eighteen, and you know what eighteen means?” 

Max pushed his index finger down on the table in front of him, staring David in the eyes a second too long. He got lost in them and forgot what he was saying. He had to look away to regain himself. 

“You know what sounds good? Cinnamon rolls.”

David laughed, looking down at the table. “Maybe one day I’ll convince the quartermaster to make us some.”

“You better,” Max threatened, standing up from the table. “Don’t let me down, Camp Man.” He started walking away, striding a bit too much as he turned back around to point at David. “Best man in the whole camp right here! WOOH!” He walked out of the mess hall, not sure where he was going. It just made sense for him to do it. He tried not to pay attention to the way Neil was glaring at him on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think is gonna happen? It’s been forever since I wrote a story on here, so I can use all the positive affirmation you give me.


	3. A Very Late Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max is led into an unexpected conversation with a certain counselor that leaves them both more uncertain than they were to begin with.

Though Max’s high had so quickly grasped him, it would only release him slowly; forcing his eyes to remain open in the dead of night. It kept his body jittery and brain spinning, and the unsettling rushfulness of the day kept his thoughts from being fully coherent.

He tried his best not to let himself linger on the feeling so he could close his eyes and maybe, just maybe, drift off to sleep. Sadly, after he closed his eyes he would eventually reopen them and forget he had a task. He tossed and turned in the small space of his tent. For a moment, he considered taking a Xanax to help him sleep, but he decided no. Not yet, anyway. 

So he waited. His body shivered from cold chills and uncomfortable bursts of energy that jerked his body this way and that. He was too alive for how dead he felt.

After a moment's notice, he considered the Xanax once again. It had always helped him before, but he worried he wouldn’t be capable of falling asleep before the sadness of the drug kicked in. His emotions kicked his ass when he mixed them with Xanax.

Sitting up in his bed, Max put on the flashlight on his phone and covered it with his finger, dimming the light enough for him to see but also enough to not disturb anyone. He told himself he would just get the bar out and look at it. He wouldn’t take it, he would just look. That was all.

So with that, he unzipped his backpack and shuffled around for a ziplock baggie with a considerable amount of nonprescription drugs inside. He opened the bag and took out one pill. One pill just to look at, but as he stared at the solid blue bar, he decided one pill just to take. It would make him feel better, anyways, and shouldn’t Max want the best for himself? 

He popped it in his mouth and gathered enough saliva to swallow, with no hesitance found within his motions. He then began to carefully reseal the bag, doing his best to compete with the light shaking of his fingers. He was just about finished until-

“Max, are you awake?” Max dropped the bag, the pills scattering all across the dirty tent floor. A small bit of panic rose in his chest, he locked his eyes with the tent flap. He could see a silhouette just outside. “It's David.”

“No, what the fuck are you doing? What time is it?” Max ran his hand over the floor of his tent, feeling for the multiple pills scattered about.

“...12:03.”

Max would have to deal with it later.

Max exhaled loudly through his nose, opening the tent flap and shining his flashlight directly in David’s eyes. “What the fuck do you want.” Though it was a question, it came across a lot more like a demand. David visibly shivered, then covered his eyes to protect himself from the blinding light that was already leaving purple spots where his hands were.

“Max, ow.” As if Max were kind, he positioned the light downwards so as not to hurt him. “I want to talk to you.”

Max showed something akin to a glare. What the fuck would David want to talk about at 12:03 am? 

“I-...’ 

Max paused, then began closing his tent back up, though he realized he wasn’t really all that opposed to talking to David. It was mostly just the timing and the situation, like, whatever the fuck David was wanting to talk about couldn’t be good.

Crouching down to Max’s level, David gently held onto the tent flap so that Max would stop pulling it up.

“Ten minutes. That’s all, alright?”

Max considered this.

“Please?”

“... I don’t feel like getting up. It’s ass late.”

“That’s fine! I’ll just- um…” David thought for a moment, then glanced inside Max’s tent and invited himself in. 

As David opened the tent flap all the way, Max panicked. He wasn’t sure if he should keep David from getting in altogether or if he should be more worried about hiding the drugs. The last thing Max had expected tonight was David climbing into his tent past midnight.

He chose the ladder, quickly backing away from the opening to fumble for the pills. He felt where most of them were and ended up just sitting on top of them, and before he knew it David was sitting across from him criss-cross applesauce. 

“So?” Max asked, forgetting himself a moment.

David must have been thinking. Maybe he hadn’t thought he would get this far. “How has high school been?”

“I graduated.”

“At sixteen?” David furrowed his brows as though he was surprised Max had actually done it.

“Yeah. I took classes at the high school and did online schooling at home for the rest. I just had to tell my counselor I wanted to graduate early.”

David nodded. “So what year would you be in now?”

“A junior.”

“Max, that’s great!” David beamed. “It must’ve been difficult to do so much so fast. Are you planning on going to college?”

Max made a face and flipped the flashlight upside down. He was suddenly realizing he didn’t want David to see him. 

“I don’t know. I’ll probably just get a shitty job and go from there,” Max mumbled half-heartedly.

Again, David nodded. “That makes sense.”

“...Really?” Max asked surprised, glancing up at David.

“Yeah- I- uh, I never went to college either.” He paused, thinking a moment. “But if you really don’t think you want to go, you should consider making more of a plan.” David explained. 

“Okay,” was the only way Max thought to respond. “Change the topic.”

“How’s life at home?”

“Alright,” Max smiled sarcastically, adjusting his seating position in an unimpressive manner. “I think that we’re done here, so if you wanna climb on out—“

“I’m sorry, Max,” David interrupted. “I know life for you must not have been very easy, but I really need you to talk to me.” 

Max made a face at the older man as David lifted Max’s phone up from the ground slightly, the light cascading over the two of them. He must’ve been checking the time.

“How about this,” David pursed his lips, thinking. “I can make us some cocoa and we talk. I won’t push too hard.”

“I thought you promised ten minutes.” 

David sighed. “Yes, but have you considered a half hour while drinking cocoa?”

And oddly enough, Max began to consider it. Him and David, in David’s cabin, with Bob Ross playing in the background while they talked. The context of what it was they were supposed to talk about was completely out of the picture. Max just liked the idea of sitting with David. 

“... Okay.”

————

Max was only sitting by the coffee table and he already felt like he was going to cry. 

David was in the small kitchen they had in the counselor’s cabin which was located right behind the couch Max was sitting at. He was staring at the television, even though it was turned off. He could see David’s reflection on the screen as he poured some cocoa powder in a mug, then began to stir it with a spoon. 

Max was only now realizing that David was not in his camp uniform. Just a regular T-shirt and sweatpants similar to what Max was wearing, only Max’s looked a bit more oversized and worn out. Max thought about how silly it must be for him to think that it was intimate seeing David outside of regular camp activities, especially considering that David would likely not feel mutual about it. 

Or maybe he would. Max silently wondered how many campers he had taken aside because he was concerned for them. Max hoped for a second that he was the only one, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for several reasons.

“Here you go!” 

Max jumped at the cheerful voice and his face grew more red as he looked up at him. He scowled for no reason in particular and seized the mug in his right hand. He didn’t even take a drink before setting the mug down in front of him beside a coaster. David didn’t appear very bothered by it.

“So…” Max began, crossing his arms. David sat down on the opposite end of the couch. “What are you so concerned about?”

David took a sip out of his mug. It had a small, green pine tree on the front of it that Max studied as not to have to look David in the eye. “I just wanted to check up on you.”

Max sighed, shifting his eyes up. “Yeah I got that, but what in particular?”

David swished around the mug in his hands. He was staring inside of the cup rather than at Max. He ignored Max’s question. “When I was around your age, there was a lot of talk about drug abuse, and I had a friend named Lydia who-“

“Hey, what the fuck-?” Max interrupted, but David kept going.

“I had a friend named Lydia who tried to get me to do ecstasy, and I don’t know if you know but ecstasy was a pretty popular drug in the 90s. But I didn’t really want to do it.” David kept his eyes down at his mug.

“So she picks me up from school along with my friend Joseph at the time and we go to the park and I’m in the front passenger seat thinking I’m about to have a heart attack. She gets in her purse and pulls out three large, blue pills. She bought one for each of us without even asking if I was interested.”

“... Well, what did you do?” Max questioned sarcastically, humoring David, then picked his mug off the table. He was imagining poor teen David hanging out with Max and his friends. 

“I pretended I took it then tossed it out the window the first chance I got,” David finished simply.

Max was quiet a moment, thinking about how much money Lydia must’ve dropped for David to just throw it out the window. “What’s this got to do with me?”

“I was just wondering what you thought of that story.”

Max exhaled heavily, blinking slightly too long and laying back on the couch. He didn’t take notice of how heavy his eyelids were becoming. 

He set his mug back down before he even took a drink of it. “David, if you’re going to accuse me of being on drugs just do it already. Just tell me about how disappointed you are and let me go to sleep.”

“I’m not disappointed,” came David’s response. “I’m just worried about you. I thought maybe if I opened up a little you would too.”

Max lifted his gaze to meet David’s. “Why do you care,” he said plainly.

As though David was actually interested, he tilted his head to one side and asked, “What do you mean?”

Max frowned, folding his arms over his chest. He could feel his breath quicken as he began his response. He didn’t really feel like explaining to David why he shouldn’t be concerned with him. “I mean, like,” he lifted his chin, looking up at the ceiling as though it might hand him a script. “What’s it matter to you whether I am or not? I’m not your concern. Not really.”

“Well, you certainly are my concern, Max.” Max coughed out a small laugh, “and I think you could benefit from talking to someone. Drug addiction is a terrible road to get off of by yourself.”

“So tell me,” Max leaned forward on the couch, tensing his shoulders. “Why do you assume I’m doing drugs?”

For a moment, David seemed to buffer. He pursed his lips and stared blankly at Max until he finally answered. “I don’t mean to insult you, but you weren’t very good at hiding it.”

Max could have laughed if he wasn’t so frustrated at what was happening, and suddenly very scared because he was beginning to feel like he was going to cry.

He shut his eyes and let his head hang down. In all honesty, Max wasn’t sure if the depression he was feeling was built up or if it was all at once. Either way, he was absolutely about to cry and he wasn’t planning on letting David see.

“I don’t think any less of you, Max, and I’m not going to call your parents or anything. I just,” David pressed his lips into a tight line, his eyes trained on the back of Max’s neck. “I don’t want you to, uh,” he noticed the tenseness in Max’s shoulders, “go down a path that will,” Max’s hands were placed on either side of his face, leaving David’s attempts to read him fruitless, “that could very easily...” 

David heard a small sniff and forgot whatever point he had been trying to make. 

“Max?”

There was no response. 

Setting his mug down on the table in front of him, David scooted himself so that he was right next to Max. “Oh- Max, I’m so sorry.” He acted like he had just realized how horrible of a plan this had been. “I shouldn’t have tried to have this conversation so late. It’s my fault, I can walk you back to your tent and we can talk about this tomorrow after we’ve had some rest and—“

A choked exhale was forced out of Max, and David could see clearly that he was trying very hard to keep himself together. 

“I’m so sorry,” David repeated, and against his better judgement, he rested his hand on Max’s shoulder. It was just a simple comfort thing that had Max curling in on himself trying not to sob. His eyes were clenched shut and his lips were tight and trembling. 

Max felt tired, both from the Xanax and the bright lights he was covering his eyes from. Somewhat cautiously, he dug his fingernails into his scalp then quite suddenly pulled his hands back towards his face, quickly wiped under his eyes, and brought his head back up.

Exhaling loudly, he folded his hands and brought them over his mouth. He stared straight ahead at the TV screen and watched the reflection. David appeared very uncertain and somewhat hopeful. 

Max found that he would rather not see him.

“...Everytime I feel good I think it’s going to last forever,” Max began. He wasn’t sure where he was going with it, but he hoped the words would find themselves along the way. “And I’m wrong every single time.” 

David wouldn’t notice, but Max glanced at the screen once more, awaiting a reaction. Surprisingly, David’s expression hadn’t changed in any way. He just stayed neutral, ready for whatever else Max would have to say.

As if all at once, Max became very aware of the warmth of David’s palm. He began to feel sick for no reason in specific, he assumed it was for the many overwhelming things going on right now. He opened his mouth as though he was planning on speaking again, but shut it when he felt David’s thumb brush over his shoulder blade. He blamed his queasiness on the drugs.

“I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s… just a rough patch, a lot of people go through these kinds of things,” David assured him. “And I’m going to help you through it.”

“Oh god.” Max threw his head back down. He honestly wasn’t sure he wanted any help, and he wasn’t trying to create some sort of situation. He was regretting ever agreeing to this conversation. 

“...How long has this been going on for?”

“About a year,” Max weakly responded. 

“What all kind of drugs have you- um, done?” 

With furrowed brows, Max replied vaguely muffled. “You don’t really want me to list them all, do you?”

David tilted his head and stared up at the ceiling for less than a second, a small buffer in his reaction time that showed a brief bit of disappointment at Max. “No. That’s fine.” Then, without missing a beat, “What was it today?”

“Adderall,” Another heavy exhale, then, “... Xanax.”

Oddly enough, David didn’t look very confused. He reacted as though he was following, and it came as quite a surprise. “Are you on-?” David paused, then pointed down. “Is the Xanax now?”

Max only nodded. The word ‘Xanax’ sounded funny in David’s voice.

Finally, David removed his hand from Max’s shoulder, leaving said teen feeling suddenly very cold and alone.

“...Does Neil know?”

Somehow, that was the breaking point. Max felt his bottom lip tremble and he covered his mouth with his hand, a few tears falling from his eyes as he swallowed the disgusting sounds trying to escape his throat. 

As though he had prepared for this, David did what he did best and jumped to action, gently removing Max’s hands away from his face and pulling him into a hug Max wasn’t prepared for, and surprisingly, without any protest, Max returned it. He rested his forehead on David’s shoulder and melted in the warmth, allowing himself the comfort.

They sat there for a while, David holding Max with the best angle the couch would allow him to, with Max silently, though sometimes more violently, crying into his shirt while David said small, encouraging things every now and again. 

The tiredness of the drugs made it easier for Max to feel safe like this, relaxing ever so slightly as he just let himself be. He let David take all of his weight and made it a point to remember how good it felt just to be held. 

Taking in the scent of David for the last time, he prepared himself to pull away from him, and after another minute, he finally did. 

Before Max knew it, David tentatively raised his hand to begin wiping the tears off of Max’s cheek, and Max was suddenly very afraid that he was about to tell David everything. 

“... Do you think you’re gonna be alright tonight?” 

“I got kicked out,” Max admitted. “Neil came with me to support me while I try to get my shit together, and I totally screwed him over...” Max sniffed, raising his arm to wipe under his nose as his eyelids began to drop.

David stopped his actions, resting his arm down and giving Max his full attention. 

“You…” David blinked, seemingly performing a double take. “You got kicked out?”

All Max could do was hum a small affirmation, his head leaning forward a bit too much as he began nodding out.

For the first time that night, David’s voice sounded a bit panicked. “Do you know what you’re going to do?”

There was no response.

“Max?”

He glanced up just a moment, his eyes remaining mostly closed. “Mm.” Then his head began to drop further.

David suddenly stood; Max didn’t realize until he heard his name and had to crane his neck a lot more than his body was capable of at the moment. “Okay, I think we should get you to bed. I—…” David trailed off, as though he wasn’t sure what words were right. “I’m gonna figure this out.”

“Mm,” was the response again.

So David worked hard to help Max up off the couch and began to stand him up. He was quickly realizing the only way Max would be moving is if he was leaning into David. 

David helped him to the door, then out of it, and began the short walk to Max’s tent. He basically had to move all of Max’s weight, and once they got to the tent, he helped Max inside of it, leading him to haphazardly fall asleep on a handful of a crushed, powdery mess.

David did his best to throw Max’s blanket over top of him, whispered a small goodnight, then zipped up the tent from the outside and made his way back to the cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that took so long, but with this corona shit I’m gonna be updating a lot sooner this time. I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands now. Let me know what you think? Comments mean the world to me :))


	4. An Offer of Sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David gives Max an offer he can’t refuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter lays out the grounds in which the story progresses.

The air felt stiff as Max awoke in his tent, lazily blinking his eyes as his brain played catch-up with his surroundings. The tent was far too bright, letting him know the sun was out making its rounds through the camp. Max scrunched his nose because the sun shouldn’t be up before David woke everyone. 

Laying on his side, Max noticed the dozen pills scattered about him. His eyes drifted from one, then to another, then he slowly brought his finger to trace across the tent floor in front of his face. As he brought it back up to his field of vision, he noticed a powdery film over the extremity. 

His next thought was to check his phone for the time, so he pressed down on his home button to see the hour was three, but the phone powered off before he could read anything else. 

So Max sat up, confused, and ran a hand over his hair. Had David not woken everyone up, or had Max slept through it? Or maybe the only reasonable explanation was David had let him sleep in because he had him up so late the night before. 

The hand over Max’s hair suddenly became a tight fist as he pulled a large tuft of hair rather roughly, then pulled his hand down over his face, then back to the ground. “Fuck this shit,” he mumbled quietly under his breath as he scanned the tent for his camp shirt.

Once he found it, he quickly changed shirts and debated whether he actually wanted to leave the comfortable confines of his tent. 

Max quickly decided that no, he did not want to leave. He threw himself back down in his blanket and turned back onto his side, but instead of closing his eyes, he waited patiently while his thoughts pondered over the pros and cons of getting up. After what had happened last night, Max didn’t really want to see David, but he did want to see Neil. He needed to apologize and get them back on track, but the situation was stressful.

However, Max decided that today was just going to be one of those days he had to power through, so he sat up again and left his tent still in his sweatpants that were against dress code (something about how jeans were more durable in the woods) and made his way to the mess hall. Even if no one was there, he could still charge his phone at least. 

The trip to the mess hall was quick and quiet, though Max could still make out the sounds of other campers going about their daily activities somewhere in the distance. Max had glanced around to find where the noise was coming from, but didn’t see anyone and he wasn’t entirely worried about it yet. Besides, Max didn’t want to be questioned by anyone about why he was so late. That said, what would he tell Neil? And while he was on the topic, what would David tell Max?

He pushed the large doors to the mess hall open and let the door close on its own behind him. Flicking his eyes about the room, he chose to sit at a long table next to an outlet and plugged his phone in. The next question was, now what?

The room felt a lot different without other people surrounding him. He noticed how much space there was, and how many windows there were, and how terribly the tables were cleaned after breakfast. 

For a while, that was all Max did. He looked and observed in the name of procrastination until his phone finally powered on. Apparently, it was already past four. Max couldn’t believe that he had actually slept that long, but he dismissed the thought after he saw an unread message from Neil. 

It read: Hey you awake?

And that was it. Max sent his response as: Yea in the mess hall, how long u guys been doing shit? 

Then Max powered off the screen and traced the cracks on his phone with his thumb nail until, surprisingly, he got a notification that Neil had already responded. 

The message read: Fucking hours. We are headed your way now.

To which Max replied: Alright bet.

Max brought his head down to the table and waited, but he could already hear the small bustling and chatter of the campers approaching the building, and soon after he heard David’s voice loud and clear. 

“I know, very exciting!” Max heard the man exclaim, followed by the door being kicked open. Max raised his head up to see David holding a tower of board games, approaching the table Max was currently sitting at, and Neil following close behind him. 

Glancing between the two of them, Max became nervous enough to begin picking at the bedding of his nails under the table. 

“There he is!” David exclaimed, a few campers coming up from behind the man to grab board games to play. David playfully raised a brow at Max. “How is my junior counselor doing on this fine day?”

“I-“ Max knit his brows together, pushed his head further into his neck, then jotted his chin back out with a perplexed look across his face. “What?”

“So last night I was doing some thinking-“ David began as Neil seated himself next to Max. “And I thought it would be a great idea for you to become a co-counselor!” 

Max chewed on his bottom lip, obviously still very confused.

“Listen,” pushing the board games aside, David sat down across from him. “It’s an easy job and it pays a good amount. I mean,” David gestured his hands lightly in front of him, palms facing upwards, then folded his hands in front of him. “I live off of it, and you only get paid a little less than me. All you’ve gotta do is fill out the paperwork.”

“W-... What’s going on?” Neil asked, looking between Max and David, completely lost. 

David gave Neil a sideways glance, then leaned across the table and spoke quietly to Max. “Does he know?”

“I thought I told you he did,” Max responded dumbly. He pressed his palms into the table nervously, uncertain about the sudden situation he was in. 

“Do I know what?” Neil looked to Max for answers. 

“That, um,” Max stared down at the table. “I got kicked out.”

Nodding, David continued, causing Max to meet his eye once more. “Max, I really think you should say yes.”

“David, I really appreciate you trying to help,” Max took in a deep breath, his shoulders rising, then exhaled it heavily through his nose, his shoulders sinking. “I don’t need some kind of… pity job. I get around, I can find some-“

Neil interrupted Max by elbowing him in his side just enough to get his point across, a spiteful look on Max’s face as Neil gave him a glare that told him he best reconsider. 

Max grimaced, then shot Neil a glare that held daggers.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” David promised. “I do think it would be good for you to have a source of income right now, but also I could use the help after Gwen left.” 

David didn’t wait before he already reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rolled up packet. He set it on the table in front of Max, flattening out any creases and pointed at the fine print. 

“And, as you see here, the dress code is not strictly enforced on employees so you don’t have to wear that camp shirt I know you hate,” David gestured at the shirt, “You get a say in all camp activities, though I do withhold the right to overrule you. You don’t have to do any of the classes besides helping people as you see fit, and,” David pressed a finger down on the paper, flicking his eyes up at Max who was scanning over the words, dumbfounded. “You get Gwen’s old room. It has a small TV, there are DVDs in the attic I could get out for you, you could have your phone charging all night-“

“Alright, David!” Max interrupted. He lifted the packet off of the table, flipping a page to where his signature was supposed to go. “You don’t have to keep selling me on it.”

“Alright, you’ll do it?” Though David was uncertain, he already had a huge grin on his face.

A small sigh, then a nod and a surprised smile. “Yeah, why not, I’ll do it,” Max paused, then looked back up from the paperwork. “Do you have a pen?”

“I do!” Neil loudly exclaimed, jutting himself back into the conversation and pulling a blue pen out of his pocket. 

“I already filled out the basic information for you, so all you’ve gotta do is sign your name a few places and it’s good to go!” David excitedly tapped his fingers on the table. “I hope you don’t mind, I put myself down as your emergency contact, I just figured-... I mean it’s not too late to change it if you…”

Max grasped the pen in his right hand, quickly scribbling his name in several places, then asked, “what do I do about parent signature?”

“Oh, um- just-“ David’s eyes widened, his brows furrowing, and he brought his finger up to his chin in thought. “Just put random scribbles,” he finished quickly. 

Unable to help but grin, Max declared, “Hell yeah, David, fuck the police!”

“No, not- just under these circumstances-“

“And that’s that,” Max intervened, sliding the paperwork back to David.

David smiled, pulling the packet closer to himself while Max returned the pen to Neil. He glanced over it, making sure everything was in place before rolling it up and putting it back in his pocket.

“So what now, like, what’s this imply?” Max asked. He rested his chin on his hand, finding himself admiring the genuineness David’s smile usually lacked, but then all at once Max became uncomfortable by his observation and brought his hands back down to the table as his shoulders visibly tensed. 

Folding his hands over the table, David answered. “Well, we could get you settled into Gwen’s old room, go over some of the more boring parts of the job.” He raised his hand up, pointing his thumb behind him. “I can get the quartermaster in here to watch over everyone.”

Max nodded. “Bet.”

——————

It was about half way through the walk that Max became nervous again. Something about the drugs all over his tent floor, and in his backpack just waiting to be found, and although David already knew, Max didn’t want him to see his collection first hand. Even worse than that, Max didn’t want him to take it away. 

So when David turned down the path to the campers tents, Max jumped to action. 

“Hey, um- I’m not really sure I want to move into Gwen’s old cabin yet. I mean, I might take a look at it, I don’t know.” Max picked at the skin around his nails, resisting his instinct to keep his head down. Eye contact would make Max look more confident. 

David craned his neck to look at Max only a moment before simply turning away from the path and continuing forward to the cabin. “Oh, that makes sense. Probably don’t wanna be cooped up in the same building as me for that long, huh?” David laughed. 

“Yep.” Max replied, then hoped that David would know that was a joke. “It’s just I don’t wanna leave Neil out there alone. He’s sort of only here because of me, so…”

David nodded. “Speaking of why you’re here, Max, I have something else I want to talk about.” 

“Okay.” 

By that time, they had arrived at the cabin and David rushed ahead to open the door for Max. 

It was just as it was the night before only Max could process it better. He noticed the cracks in the wooden walls, the way the light in the kitchen had a small flicker, and a cup of discarded hot chocolate from the night before. 

Max watched as David closed the door, then proceeded to cross the room over to a desk. He opened the top drawer and began searching for something. Once he found it, he turned back around and handed it over to Max.

At the slight brush of their fingertips, Max’s brain turned to mesh and he couldn’t quite comprehend that David had handed him a set of keys.

“These are for the cabin, storage closets, the attic. The other counselor room if you end up wanting it,” David explained. “I have to ask you to use these responsibly, don’t take any equipment, blah blah blah, but that’s it with the job talk for now. I just wanted to talk about a few things with you.”

“Alright,” was the affirmative of choice. 

David gestured for Max to have a seat, and Max worried he would be here awhile. 

The two of them sat down at the couch, same as the night before only Max wasn’t high. The unsettling familiarity was putting Max on edge. 

David cleared his throat, and Max inferred that meant he was uncomfortable in the situation when really David was just uncertain about his words. “I was wondering if you had your license.”

Trying his best to act polite, Max simply answered, “I don’t.”

“Well,” David began, “I don’t know why you got kicked out, Max, but I know that your parents aren’t very good people and I hope you don’t mind me saying that. If you think there is any chance they will let you go back there after summer is over, that is your choice.” He took a deep breath, and Max wondered if David was feeling anxious. “I was doing some research last night, and the legal age of emancipation just so happens to be sixteen.”

Suddenly, Max felt disappointed. “I already looked into that. They don’t really take some crappy looking kid walking in without an adult seriously.”

“I’m an adult,” David offered. “And if you have a job, and a license, and you’ve looked at a few places on the market, they have no reason to turn you down.” Then, David quickly added, “but it’s your choice.”

Suddenly, Max was at a complete loss for words. He didn’t understand how David could see a bad situation and come up with a well thought out plan in only one night, especially when he really didn’t have to. As well as a spark of admiration he felt towards the man at the moment, Max also felt a bit annoyed and overwhelmed. David couldn’t just march in and save Max like it was nothing.

“I could teach you how to drive, we could look at a few places come the end of summer. It could be fun,” David bribed, giving Max more reasons not to say no. 

Except, “David, how the hell would you find time for all that?”

“Easy. We do driving lessons for an hour every night right after curfew, we have the quartermaster sit tight and just make sure nothing happens, and by the end of summer you can take your driving test.”

Max thought he must look stupid right now with the way he was dumbfoundedly staring at the man in front of him. He absolutely refused to believe that someone so considerate could possibly exist. “You’re making it real hard to say no,” Max half-joked. 

“So..?” David pushed, and Max could tell he wanted him to say yes. So Max did.

He wasn’t sure, but Max thought that he might have been smiling. “Okay. Yeah. Let’s do that,” and Max thought he might even be a little excited. 

“Alright!” David stood, and Max did the same, assuming that was the end of the discussion. “One more thing, though, before the QM serves dinner… You cannot be under any kind of influence, Max, and I’m not going to search your things, or keep being on you about that.” David raised a brow. “Unless it doesn’t stop.”

Though it was very fair, Max felt a bit alarmed. He let himself believe for a moment that from this point forward, he’d be completely sober, even though he knew it was bullshit. 

All Max did was nod, and David smiled. “Okay, I’m glad we got everything settled. We start lessons tonight, yeah?”

Another nod, and the conversation was led to less important places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it and if there is anything you would like me to cover more on, let me know in the comments :)


End file.
